That Time MLK Convinced Nichelle Nichols To Stay on “Star Trek”

Nichols and her character’s joint impact on pop culture continues to be felt to this day, but perhaps what’s most amazing is how fleeting it could have been if not for a random intervention by none other than MLK himself.

By Tom McKenna

Published on 8/1/2022 at 5:51 PM

Credit: Getty Images

Nichelle Nichols, a beloved actor, singer, and dancer whose career spanned six decades, passed away Saturday at the age of 89. Nichols will be best remembered for her trailblazing role as Lt. Nyota Uhura on the original “Star Trek” TV series, which aired from 1966-69.

Nichols’ performance as Uhura — a communications officer and the fourth highest-ranking member of the USS Enterprise — was a landmark moment for representation in pop culture, marking one of the first times in American history that a Black woman appeared on television in a leading role. Nichols also contributed to a watershed moment in the 1968 episode “Plato’s Stepchildren,” when Uhura shared what is believed to be the first interracial kiss broadcast on TV with Enterprise Capt. James T. Kirk (played by her white co-star William Shatner).

Nichols and her character’s joint impact on pop culture continues to be felt to this day, but perhaps what’s most amazing is how fleeting it could have been if not for a random intervention by none other than Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. According to an anecdote Nichols sharedin severalinterviews, she initially considered quitting “Star Trek” entirely after its first season. However, MLK personally urged her to stick with the show when the two spoke at an NAACP fundraiser in California, stressing her character’s importance to the cause of civil rights and representation.

“[MLK] said, ‘You can’t [quit]. Don't you know who you are to our movement, to everyone? You are there in the 23rd century. You've created a role that has such dignity and everything — it’s so powerful. You cannot leave,’” Nichols reflected in a 2011 interview. “Then he told me many other things, like, ‘This is one of his only shows that Coretta and I allow our children to stay up and watch.’ So I went back Monday morning and told [“Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry], and he said, ‘God bless Dr. Martin Luther King. Somebody sees what I'm trying to achieve.’”

Shatner was one of many of Nichols’ contemporaries to express their sorrow at her death. “I am so sorry to hear about the passing of Nichelle,” the 91-year-old actor tweeted. “She was a beautiful woman & played an admirable character that did so much for redefining social issues both here in the US & throughout the world.”